China Hopes WikiLeaks Will Not Harm Relations With US

Beijing has responded cautiously to the WikiLeaks reports detailing U.S. State Department cables about China. Like other nations named in the trove of leaked State Department cables, China has been pouring over the documents released on-line this week by WikiLeaks.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Tuesday that Beijing has "taken note" of the reports.Hong says China hopes the U.S. will "appropriately handle the WikiLeaks issue" and hopes that nothing in the reports disturbs the U.S.-China relationship. He would not comment directly on any of the information detailed in the reports.

The leaked U.S. diplomatic cables indicate China has signaled its readiness to accept Korean reunification and is distancing itself from the North Korean government.

It reveals then-Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister He Yafei told a U.S. official last year that Pyongyang was acting like a "spoiled child" by staging a missile test in an attempt to push Washington to hold bilateral talks. Chinese officials are also quoted as using mocking language in reference to North Korea.

One of the leaked cables alleges that children of high-ranking North Korean and Chinese officials managed to use the aid and investment deals for their own enrichment.

The cables came out as Beijing tries to ease tensions on the Korean peninsula after the North's artillery bombardment of a South Korean island last week. Four South Koreans, two marines and two civilians, were killed in the attack.

The leaked documents reportedly say that China's Politburo directed the hacking of Google's computer systems as part of a broader coordinated campaign of computer sabotage.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says WikiLeaks has acted illegally in releasing the material. World leaders say the disclosure jeopardizes national security, diplomats, intelligence assets and relationships among foreign governments.